Wetter than wet Wednesday.

Looks like a good bit of monk moving inshore...

ID this tail...

Cefas collecting the latest landing data from the inshore trawlers who landed today...

there might be fairies at the bottom of some gardens but there are more witches on the market in Newlyn...

and plaice...

Nigel's eyes must have popped wide open when this beauty flopped out of the cod end and flipped its tail up on the deck...

the almost prehistoric look of ray tails...

another pair of congruous conger...

pretty in pink, red mullet always good to see...

some of the hake boats filled the western end of the market...

keeping the porters busy...

moving several hundred boxes of hake...

and blackjacks...

and pollack...

from the likes of the Karen of Ladram...

with the 2-3 grade hake making good money...

for the Britannia V...

they get taken from the market quick enough...

roses from pollack, cod and ling...

not quite a gummy bear, the teeth on this fish are more like those to be found on a rasp - raspers rather than teeth...

"I'll have some of those"...

some just can't stand the pace...

cracking example of a bream, but which one?...

another boat name, this time with religious connotations.

Newlyn Fish Festival makes a £10,000 donation to the FishMish!

Newlyn Fishermen's Mission is £10,000 better off today after Kevin Bennets, director of the Newlyn Fish Festival team handed over a cheque to a grateful mission superintendent, Keith Dixon.

From L-R, Keith Dickson, John Lander, Elisabeth Bolitho, Steve Ryman, Leah Hartwell, Janette Eathorne, Andy Wheeler, Kevin Bennets and Julian Waring.

Celebrated in proper job Cornish style with a pasty and jam with clotted cream scones in the new Fish Festival headquarters... 

the donation has come at a time when a run of poor weather has undoubtedly made the lives of some fishing families, especially those working smaller boats from remote coves and harbours even more difficult.  Although the 'FishMish' still has an office and of course the Memorial Chapel in the old mission building Keith and his team are now free to spend more of their time out in the community talking and serving more closely with fishing families in their homes.

In the next few days Mission skipper Keith will launch a Twitter news service that will inform anyone who needs to know when and where the team will be as they make their regular round of port calls throughout Cornwall.

Responsible Fishing Scheme.

Next Monday (22^nd Feb) sees Seafood Cornwall host an all new Responsible Fishing Scheme workshop from 9:00am to 12:00pm.  The event will take place in the training hub building opposite the lifeboat house slip.

Existing RFS members and anyone needing to join the new scheme will have a fantastic opportunity to talk with some of the people who helped redesign the scheme.

The idea of the workshop is to promote the newly re-launched Responsible Fishing Scheme and also to  explain the content and processes involved for vessels wishing to become members. Increasingly consumers are more and more interested in the provenance of the fish they are buying so there will also be updates on how the onshore elements of the seafood supply chain are increasingly using  the RFS as part of their sourcing policies and has been fully updated to improve its ability to meet the increasing need for the seafood supply chain to ensure responsible practice and traceability from sea to plate. 

The workshop will predominantly be of benefit to vessel skippers and more especially vessel owners considering joining the scheme.  This will also be a golden opportunity for local buyers and processors as well as any other interested parties who are more than welcome to attend.

Monday sees Newlyn full of fish - something for everyone.

Four beam trawlers, an inshore trawler and a couple of gill netters landed in time for this morning's Monday market...

thereby hangs a tail - but to which fish does this belong?...

not the mighty meaty megrim for sure...

or beloved bass..

and with temperatures outside...

close to freezing this morning there's little melt water in the boxes......

a couple of congruous congers...

and right up Smart's quality street, a couple of big cocks...

some boat's get named after loved ones...

or with a degree of whimsy...

or simply to define or align their prowess symbolically...

there's a rush to buy the morning's black gold...

while these top quality whitefish form the Imogen II go head-to-head...

and keep the buyers busy...

down the quay, Newlyn's biggest crab company Rowse Fishing's Intuition needs to get a new set of gear in the water - those recent gales have seen a fair number of their strings of pots go walkabout on the seabed...

and now that the weather and forecast have moderated for a few days the harbour is empty save for a few boats laid up, undergoing refit or repairs...

generally a morning sky that beckons with a mix of orange and deep blue at the horizon is the portent of a clear and sunny day...

so Tom's view of the Mount...

or out to sea shouldn't give him any cause for concern.

Saturday comings and goings.

Just another Saturday in Newlyn - boats on the way in to take ice, gigs practicing, beam trawlers landing...

several teams for each gig get to practice over the weekend...

as the fish from the beam trawlers...

gets loaded on the back of a lorry before going to the market cold store...

out in the bay the Trinity House boat, Galatea services a buoy at anchor.

#FishyFriday it is!

Heavy skies, huge tides and less wind...

Tom maintains his watch over Newlyn and the Western Approaches...

as the skipper of the Mission prepares to head out on his round of house calls...

the "Philly" is up ahead for a spot of annual maintenance...

while the netting fleet will be in port for a few days over this big Spring tide...

it is #FishyFriday...

for the PZ fleet...

first light and a tosher heads to the quayside...

one of the harbour ravens on the lookout for breakfast...

as one crew makes his way down the quay...

past a fishmarket cleared of #FishyFriday fish.

Under 10m reality of discards ban or "Landing Obligation" as it is rather perniciously known.

Spotted on Twitter:

"OUTRAGEOUS: U10m fishermen mate of mine caught 20 boxes today. Landed 3. No #blondes, no #spurdog, no #bass. £2k in live discards. #criminal 

— Mike Warner (@eastcoastavocet) February 11, 2016"

As if the meagre amount of fish caught by the Under 10m sector would begin to even dent the stocks of any species subject to quota regulation! 

Follow-up comment just about says it all:

"Further to my last tweet. Poor guy hasn't been to sea for 2 weeks, now utterly demoralised. 😔 @SkipperEditor @NFFO_UK @LIFEplatformEU

— Mike Warner (@eastcoastavocet) February 11, 2016